Chris Grayling: 'Ban squatting in offices and pubs to protect owners'

Squatting in offices, pubs and other businesses should be outlawed to protect owners from “inappropriate occupation” of their premises, a senior Cabinet minister said today.

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said he was “in favour” of extending the current law, which prohibits squatting in residential homes, to cover commercial property. He added that he was “acutely aware” of the problems faced by business owners.

It follows a spate of cases in which squatters in London have occupied offices, pubs and other commercial buildings. A former police station in Norbury, up for sale as part of a Met cost-cutting plan, became the latest property to be taken over after a group of squatters moved in last week.

Tory backbenchers have responded to such cases by calling for legislation introduced by the Ministry of Justice in 2012 to ban squatting in homes to be widened to cover commercial premises.

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Until now, the Government has merely promised to consider the issue, but Mr Grayling today said that action was needed, saying that he wanted businesses to enjoy the same protection that had already benefited homeowners.

“I’m very supportive of what’s happened on residential property. I think it’s made a big difference and I’m glad we’ve done that. I’m acutely aware of the issue of commercial property, I’m very sympathetic on that front as well,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Grayling insisted that his decision to stop books being sent to inmates was driven by security considerations and would not prevent prisoners from accessing reading material.

“The issue here is about parcels, not books, coming into prisons,” he said, adding: “Fifteen years ago nearly a quarter of prisoner were testing positive for drugs. That’s now down to about seven per cent. We are starting to turn the tide — and the last thing we need is to open up some other route by which we could end up seeing our prisons flooded with drugs.”